Single Review: Eminem, “Untouchable”

Last Thursday, Eminem dropped the second song off his upcoming Revival album. The production for the first half of the song recalls “Berzerk” off The Marshall Mathers LP2. Eminem continues down the politically conscious route he began with his BET Cypher earlier this year. While the lyricism is fine and the subject matter is interesting, the song initially feels off. Like his previous release, “Walk on Water (feat. Beyoncé),” it takes a few listens to sink your teeth into. In some places on the track, Em’s flow is off-kilter and almost purposely syncopated. “Untouchable” isn’t bad by any means, but it’s not stellar either. Eminem is rapping with undeniable conviction about harsh and divisive political truths, and he deserves to be praised for it. The execution, however, is shaky and he should’ve used the production on the latter half of the song on the entire track. The production on the first half clashes with his already gruff voice, and it is very distracting. Between “Untouchable” and “Walk on Water,” I’m not quite sure which Eminem we’ll get on Revival but it’s sure to be an interesting one.